Chapter 36.

PART 1.

Hatori, along with Raven and Josh, explores this ship. Hatori just knows if he asked what this ship flies on, the answer will be magic. He makes a note to use the same answer on future enemies. He can already imagine the howls of anger and the groans of frustration.

“Big space.” Noted Raven. “I want a ship of my own now. It’ll permanently remain on air.”

“That sounds awesome.” Agreed Hatori. “You’ll invite us there once in a while, right?”

“No. You don’t need an invitation. There will be a permanent place there for both of you.” said Raven.

“Sniff… sniff…” Josh hugs Raven. “Such a good friend you are!” He starts to sob.

“Ug. Get off me!” Raven tries to wrestle himself free.

“I’ll always remember your kindness!” Josh kept him in his grip.

Hatori ignores that entire byplay, and continues to explore the ship with his Radar spell. Though Zeko told him that the academy is located on the Subcontinent, Hatori doesn’t understand why they need to fly there, especially since that flying takes two whole days.

“Hey, let’s find our rooms and put our stuff there.” Said Josh, done expressing his emotions.

“Sure.” They find some empty rooms, and put their trunks inside, expanding them to their original size in the process.

They go out to explore the ship once more. There are some older students, but they decide to stay away from them by mutual agreement. Besides, they seem to have their own groups. Best not attract their attention. Who knows what kind of horrors they might inflict on them for their amusement?

PART 2.

After waking up the next day (he slept surprisingly well for being on a flying ship) Hatori goes for breakfast with Raven and Josh. Seriously, this is getting stale. The boy needs some new friends for variety.

They stopped in the middle, because of the massive crowd blocking their path. After some pushing and taking advantage of their small size, they get in the front. They see a boy playing an instrument. Judging from his size, he appears to be their age. The older students were asking him to play something for them at a later date. It all sounded like a business deal conducted right in front of them. Hatori also hears some jingling coming from the direction of that boy, which he thinks might be another instrument at first. But through his Radar spell, he learns that it is actually coming from the hair of that boy.

After the crowd disperses, they resume their way to breakfast. Hatori got his hand on that boy’s shoulder before he could walk away. “So, mind telling us what that instrument is?” He asked.

“Its harp.” He replied, not bothered by Hatori’s forwardness. Meanwhile, Josh and Raven are in shock after seeing this strange new side of their friend.

Looks like Hatori isn’t shy all the time. They would laugh if they knew the reality. Inside his head, Hatori is panicking for his bold move. “Wana eat with us?” He asked to hide his anxiety.

“Sure. Just let me put this in my room. Eating with this can be quite tough.” They all chuckled at his joke.

After going to his room, and waiting outside (entering without permission would be impolite) the group finally arrives at the mess hall, and takes a table quickly. They’re late already. If they would have failed to snag this table, they would have to eat while standing, or eat in their rooms. Though Hatori wouldn’t have minded that. Josh, Raven and Hatori are sitting at one side, while the new boy is sitting at the other side. Two more spots are empty at the table currently. Josh and Raven take notice of the strange eyes of this boy. One is colored blue, while the other is colored gold, which they have never seen before.

Sure, they have heard of people having two different eye-colors. But having golden eyes is unheard of.

“We forgot to introduce ourselves.” Said Raven, after serving his breakfast. “I’m Raven Arora.”

“I’m Josh Fernandes.”

“Hatori Eagle.” He concludes with the introductions. Hatori gets a slap on his back from Josh for his rather poor introduction.

“That is no way to introduce yourself! Have some manners.” He chided.

“Manners? What’s that bird?” asked Hatori in response. They all laugh at that joke. Once more, the jingling noise came from that boy’s hair.

“Quite a unique character, isn’t he?” said the boy, while Josh and Raven nodded in response. “Anyway, I’m—”

“Um… May I sit with you?” asked another boy, who looks too frail in Josh’s opinion. Though compared to him, every child looks frail. “Every table seems to be filled.”

“Sure.” Josh gestures at the two empty spots in front of them.

“Thank you very much. You seem to be having a conversation. Please continue, do not mind me.” said the new boy politely. Hatori thinks he is also a first-year student like them, judging by his size and voice. He also seems way too polite, like expecting hostility at any given time, and hoping to avoid it by his politeness.

“I’m Shin.” He introduces himself. “No last name, I’m afraid.”

The last sentence was spoken in the confidence Shin has displayed up to this point, though it also contains enough hints of politeness that he also wishes to avoid problems if they do mind his lack of a last name. Which is a curious thing. Why must someone lack a last name? It doesn’t make any sense. And why would someone have a problem with it?

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“And what about you?” asked Hatori to the new boy, sitting next to Shin. “Who are you?”

“You’re not supposed to ask for it like that.” Once more Josh chided.

“My name is James Flora.” He introduced himself. Josh and Raven twitched in surprise after hearing that surname.

Ignoring their reactions, Hatori does a quick introduction to everyone. He has no patience for another round. “I’m Hatori, they are Josh and Raven,” he points to his left and right, respectively, “And you already heard his name. He’s Shin. Nice to meet you, James.” Hatori turns to Josh. “So, how was that?”

“Barely passable. You’re gonna anger a lot of people if you continue like that.” Lamented Josh. He doesn’t want to be on the firing line when that happens.

“Shin, mind telling us what’s in your hair?” asked Hatori, unable to contain his curiosity anymore.

“I’m surprised none of you have made a comment about it yet.” Raven and Josh look at each other. There’s a lot about his appearance they have not made a comment on. “These are bells in my hair. My… ahem. Where I grew up, the lady who takes care of us has the same hairstyle. I liked the sound of those bells whenever she moved, so I styled my hair just like her.”

“Hmm.” Josh assesses the style with his chin in his palm. “I think it looks good on you.”

“Good. Because making it work like this takes a lot of effort.”

“So every hair on your head is studded with bells?” asked Hatori.

“No. Only the top of my head.” Answered Shin.

Once they were all done with their breakfast, they walked out of the mess hall. James was going his separate way, but Raven stopped him. “Where are you going? Stay with us until we land.”

“Yeah, we can be clear on whether we’ll be friends or enemies.” Said Hatori, receiving another slap on his back from Josh.

“What is wrong with you today?” smiling at the lecture Hatori is receiving, all five of them walk to the upper deck to do some walking after their breakfast.

PART 3.

“All students, please gather at the lower deck. I repeat, all students, please gather at the lower deck. We are about to land.” Announced a voice.

So far, Hatori hasn’t seen any adults on the ship aside from the older students. The kids are taken care of by yantras, so the announcement must be done by a yantra as well. “I want an announcer like that, specially if it insults unwanted guests.”

“You know, Zeko also hates guests. I suppose it explains your recent behavior. He has corrupted you.” said Josh, while James and Shin contain their questions for now.

So far, the boys have gotten along famously. Some older students who talked to them in passing told them this is how future cliques are founded. The ship starts to go down, making Hatori feel ticklish in his belly. Before they land completely, a female student comes to them.

“If you look outside,” she pointed to the transparent windows. “You’ll see a magical experiment currently in progress.”

They all turned to see the said experiment. All four of the boys watch the explosions of magical energy in awe, while Hatori is surprised to sense it. “You’ve got sharp senses, boy.” She praised Hatori for sensing the energy from that far.

“Experiments like that one are quite dangerous.” Explains another male student. “That is why these ships are used to take us to and from the academy.”

Hatori appreciated the explanations, but he still doesn’t understand, why they need two days of flying. They should be at the Academy in the matter of hours, instead of taking two whole days.

PART 4.

After the ship lands, the older students leave on a different path, while younger students are all gathered outside of the ship by yantras, where they are welcomed by the professors from the Academy.

“Welcome children. I hope you had a wonderful trip. I’m Dhiraj Bishnoi, teacher of alchemy and potions at the Magecraft and Sorcery Academy, and with me is Professor Bali Deol, professor of combat.”

To Hatori’s ears, Dhiraj sounds like his namesake, very patient. “And we will escort you through the grounds of the Academy, for they are dangerous, and with your experience, you’ll all die in just a few days.”

Unlike Dhiraj, this man sounds like he’s ready to fight at any moment. He also sounds like he’ll enjoy it a lot. “Professor?” asked one student. “We were told there would be an entrance exam.”

“Ah yes. You already passed that, when you passed your school this year.” Explained Dhiraj. “Now, it’ll take us until next morning to get to the Academy. So we should start moving now.”

As they all begin to follow the professors, Hatori, along with his four friends, is walking just behind them. “Professor? I’ve got a question.” He said.

“Not even in a class, and already full of questions.” Dhiraj chuckles. “Well, ask away.”

“Why doesn’t the ship go to the Academy directly?”

“Two reasons. First, flying is restricted in this area.” Explained Dhiraj. “And we also get to test the endurance of the students.”

“Also, if some of you die here, it’ll save us from the trouble of educating you. So, please do us a favor, and eliminate yourselves from the gene pool as soon as you can.” Dhiraj delivers a thunderous slap to Bali.

“Be nice to the students! I’m sure there are some of them worth our time.”

(End.)